Wildfire in southern France kills 1, injures several
PTI
Last Updated:
Paris, Aug 6 (AP) A fast-moving wildfire in a Mediterranean region of France near the Spanish border has left one person dead, several others injured and was still spreading Wednesday after damaging a swath of land as big as Paris overnight, authorities said.
About 1,500 firefighters worked overnight to contain the blaze, which broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region. It remained 'very active" on Wednesday and weather conditions were unfavourable, the local administration said in a statement.
One person died in their home and nine others were injured, and at least one person was missing, the statement said.
It said the fire had spread for 12 hours over 11,000 hectares of land, which is roughly equivalent to the size of the French capital. That makes it the biggest wildfire in France so far this summer.
Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. (AP) GSP
view comments
First Published:
August 06, 2025, 12:45 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
How soaring heat has Parisians saying ‘oui' to air-conditioning at home
Parisians are warming up to the idea of air conditioners in their homes after long-standing resistance to this cooling device. Although it is common in office buildings and stores, it is not the norm in homes. Is the no-AC policy about to change? read more Complaints from foreign visitors mystified by Parisians' AC rejection have usually been met with a Gallic shrug. Reuters As summer temperatures rise, many Parisians are warming to the idea of installing air conditioning in their apartments, ending a longstanding resistance to what is considered a basic comfort in many capitals elsewhere. Although commonplace in the French capital's modern office buildings and large stores, air conditioning has never been the norm in Paris homes, where it is considered to be climate-unfriendly, wasteful and — at least so far — mostly unnecessary. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Complaints from foreign visitors mystified by Parisians' AC rejection have usually been met with a Gallic shrug. But fierce heatwaves in recent years, which experts say are exacerbated by global warming, are causing resolves to crumble — though the newly converted often feel guilty about the environmental impact of operating an AC unit. 'Even when you know that it's a selfish pleasure, there comes a tipping point at which all counter-arguments get thrown out,' said Ruben Arnold, a 47-year-old father of young children. As the boss of a startup company specialising in energy use in buildings, Arnold said he was well aware of the climate cost of air conditioning, but he needed the installation for him and his children to 'get through' the heat. For people on the top floor of Paris buildings directly under a zinc-covered roof, typical of the city's many Haussmann-era buildings, hot summers can feel like living below a frying pan. Didn't think that was even possible 'During the last heatwave, the temperature went up to 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) at my place,' said Marion Lafuste, who lives in northeast Paris. 'I didn't think that was even possible.' Ice packs placed in front of fans and firmly closed shutters brought scant relief, the 40-year-old said. Lafuste said she was lucky to have a place in the country where she and her family could sit out the worst of the heat. Otherwise, she would have bought an AC system 'despite all the ideological problems I have with that'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD People swim in the River Seine at the Grenelle site, opened to swimmers marking the first public bathing session in the capital's historic waterway in Paris, France. Reuters Although she worries about global warming, 'I no longer judge people who get one', she said. Martine Bontemps, who also lives on the top floor of a Paris building, said she found the heat suffocating sometimes, but still 'won't give in'. Instead, she makes do with a ceiling fan she got her landlord to install. The national weather service, Meteo France, predicts that Paris could regularly see heatwaves of up to 50 degrees Celsius by 2050. There will also be a rising number of nights with tropical-like heat, it says, which poses a health problem because humans need to sleep in temperatures of under 20 degrees Celsius to recover from daytime stresses. During a virulent French heatwave in 2003, a third of the heat-related deaths of elderly people occurred at home. This is why Sophie Julini, 53, installed air conditioning in her home, giving her 86-year-old mother an opportunity to cool down for several hours every day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Air conditioning is not yet commonplace in Paris, 'but is in full development', according to a recent study by the APUR urban planning agency. Very problematic Part of the pressure to upgrade comes from foreign visitors who rent private apartments, the report said. Hard numbers are still difficult to come by because many Paris dwellers buy portable units that do not appear in building statistics. But overall, 'we have observed a strong trend towards air conditioning', said Karine Bidart, director of the Paris Climate Agency (APC), calling the development 'very problematic'. The agency, founded by city hall to help citizens with the climate transition, does what it can to counter this 'catastrophic mis-adaptation' to climate change, she said. People swim in the River Seine at the Bras Marie site, opened to swimmers marking the first public bathing session in the capital's historic waterway, in Paris, France. File image/Reuters 'Several studies predict that a massive increase in private air conditioning will raise the outside temperature by 2 degrees Celsius,' said Dan Lert, in charge of the city's climate plan. 'It's one thing to use it as a last resort, especially for vulnerable people,' said Frederic Delhommeau, director for residential energy at APC. 'But it's problematic to turn to air conditioning as a reflex, because there are other solutions that are cheaper and more efficient.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Among them is the renovation of buildings, including by making changes to the many zinc-covered roofs, Lert said. But often such projects are blocked by heritage protection agencies, 'who rate patrimony more highly than people's health', he said. Despite everything, said Anne Ruas, a researcher, air conditioning in Paris's private apartments will only become more widespread in the coming years. 'Instead of saying you can't have them, and guilt-tripping people, we need to think of solutions and come up with the least harmful systems possible,' she said.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Uttarakhand flash floods: State seeks Doppler radars, high-tech warning systems
Uttarakhand has urged the Union government to set up three Doppler radars in the state's higher reaches, like Kedarnath and Bhagirathi valleys, and help it with high-tech early warning systems for flash floods and landslides to deal with extreme weather events. Climate change and environmental degradation have triggered a string of disasters in Uttarakhand. (PTI) The request was made days after flash floods in Uttarkashi. Climate change and environmental degradation have triggered a string of disasters in Uttarakhand over the last few years. 'We requested NDMA [the National Disaster Management Authority] to set up three Doppler radars in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand,' said secretary (home) Shailesh Bagauli on Friday. 'We have three Doppler radars. But three in higher reaches will help us in dealing with extreme weather there.' The Doppler radars provide advanced information, enhancing the lead time essential for saving lives and property in the event of a disaster associated with severe weather. Conventional radars can track and predict cyclones. Doppler radars provide detailed information on the internal wind flow and structure. The severity of the weather systems can thus be quantitatively estimated more accurately, and more precise warnings can be generated to save lives and property. Uttarakhand has Doppler radars at Lansdowne (Pauri Garhwal), Mukteshwar (Nainital), and Surkanda (Tehri Garhwal). They were set up a year after the 2013 flash floods in Kedarnath, which killed 4,127 people, under a programme to improve weather forecast services in the Himalayan states and help in reducing human losses due to extreme weather events. Activist Ajay Gautam, who has filed petitions related to disasters in the state, said higher Himalayan valleys are more susceptible to tragedies like the one in Kedarnath in 2013, and in Chamoli in 2021, when a glacial burst claimed 204 lives. He said such incidents will continue, and the government has to prepare and take measures to lessen human losses. 'One of the best ways to do this is to establish advanced warning systems and more Doppler radars, for which I had filed a plea in the Uttarakhand high court in the aftermath of the 2013 tragedy. Three have been set up, but we need more in higher reaches. The severity of the weather systems, many of which trigger landslides and cloud bursts, can help authorities to quantitatively estimate the weather more accurately and issue more precise warnings for saving human lives.' Over 51% of the state is in very high landslide susceptible zones, according to Dehradun's Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Flash floods kill at least 10 people, leave 33 missing in northwestern China
Beijing, Aug 8 (AP) At least 10 people have died and 33 are missing after flash foods in Yuzhong County in China's northwestern Gansu province, Chinese state media reported. Heavy rains since Thursday have triggered flash floods and at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The downpour knocked out power and telecommunications services in the Xinglong mountain area, leaving more than 4,000 people across four villages stranded. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue and flood prevention efforts in the area. (AP) GSP First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
